Chiang Rai to Chiang Khong and the Laos Border — Local Bus ฿90, Bridge Shuttle, Huay Xai and the Slow Boat (September 2026)
The red local bus from Chiang Rai Terminal 1 runs to Chiang Khong every hour or so for ฿65–90, about 2 hours; then a ฿150 tuk-tuk to Friendship Bridge 4, the ฿20 shuttle across, Lao visa on arrival, and a tuk-tuk into Huay Xai for the 11:00 slow boat (฿900 at the pier, 2 days to Luang Prabang). Every step with prices.
Quick answer: local bus from Chiang Rai Terminal 1 (in town, next to the night bazaar) to Chiang Khong, about hourly through the day, ฿65–90, 2 hours. Tuk-tuk from Chiang Khong to the Friendship Bridge ฿150 (less per person in a group), shuttle across ฿20, Lao visa on arrival, tuk-tuk to Huay Xai ฿100. Leave Chiang Rai by 08:00 to make the 11:00 slow boat the same day; otherwise sleep in Huay Xai or Chiang Khong and catch it next morning.
The route in numbers
| Chiang Rai → Chiang Khong → Huay Xai | checked September 2026 |
|---|---|
| Distance | 110 km by road to Chiang Khong; the bridge is 10 km south of the town |
| Local bus | Terminal 1 → Chiang Khong · roughly hourly, first about 07:30, last mid-afternoon · ฿65–90 · 2 h · no air-con |
| Tourist van | Trip Corner 05:00 and 11:00 (฿350), Yortdoy 05:30 and 13:30 (฿400) · 2 h · hotel pick-up |
| Border | Thai exit at Friendship Bridge 4 → mandatory shuttle bus ฿20 → Lao immigration, visa on arrival US$40 (about) + $1 after 16:00 and at weekends |
| Huay Xai | tuk-tuk from the bridge to town ฿100 / 10,000 kip, 15 min |
| Slow boat | Huay Xai pier 11:00 · ฿900 / 220,000 kip at the pier · night in Pakbeng · Luang Prabang about 17:30 next day |
Step 1: Chiang Rai to Chiang Khong
Local bus. From Chiang Rai Bus Terminal 1 (the old terminal in the town centre, beside the night bazaar — not Terminal 2 out on the highway) the red, fan-cooled buses to Chiang Khong leave about every hour from around 07:30 until mid-afternoon. Pay the conductor on board: ฿65–90 depending on the source and the year. Two hours through farmland, ending at Chiang Khong's small bus station on the main road.
Van. On 12Go for September 2026, Trip Corner runs vans at 05:00 and 11:00 (฿350) and Yortdoy Travel at 05:30 and 13:30 (฿400), with hotel pick-up in Chiang Rai; some continue to the bridge itself, which saves the tuk-tuk. The 05:00–05:30 departures exist so that you make the 11:00 boat comfortably.
Green Bus also passes through on some Chiang Mai–Chiang Khong services; it uses Terminal 2.
Step 2: Chiang Khong to the bridge
Friendship Bridge 4 is about 10 km south of Chiang Khong town, so you cannot walk it. Tuk-tuks at the bus station and in town charge a fixed ฿150 for a solo passenger, less each in a group of three or four (maptrotting, December 2025). Songthaews run the same road for less if you are not in a hurry.
Step 3: the border
- Thai exit at the bridge immigration building — quick.
- Shuttle bus across the bridge, ฿20 or the kip equivalent, compulsory (no walking or cycling on the bridge); three minutes.
- Lao entry. Fill in the arrival card and the visa form, hand over a passport photo (or pay a small fee for the scan), and pay in US dollars — about $40 for most nationalities, cheaper than paying in baht or kip. A $1 "overtime" fee applies after 16:00 and on weekends and Lao public holidays. Two windows: one takes your documents, the next hands the passport back with the visa. Twenty minutes on a normal day, longer when a tour bus arrives. Lao e-visa (laoevisa.gov.la) is accepted here and skips the form-filling.
Step 4: the bridge to Huay Xai, and the boat
Tuk-tuks wait on the Lao side: ฿100 or 10,000 kip per person, 15 minutes into Huay Xai, though drivers wait until they have a load. The slow-boat pier is at the north end of the main street.
- Slow boat to Luang Prabang: leaves Huay Xai about 11:00; ฿900 / 220,000 kip at the pier (January 2026). Day 1 to Pakbeng by about 18:00, where you sleep (guesthouses 40,000–50,000 kip); day 2 leaves 09:30 and reaches the boat landing 10 km outside Luang Prabang around 17:30 — tuk-tuk into town 20,000 kip. Bus-style seats; get to the boat early on day 2 or you sit by the engine. Food and drink on board cost about double town prices, so buy a sandwich in Huay Xai.
- Agency packages sold in Chiang Rai (฿1,550), Chiang Mai (฿1,700) and Pai (฿1,750) bundle the transport to the border and the boat. You pay ฿650–850 more than doing it yourself for the convenience of a guide at the border; ticket "fees" quoted in Chiang Khong (฿1,250–1,650) are the same boat.
- Speedboats also run Huay Xai–Luang Prabang in a day. The blogs that cover the slow boat carefully all say the same thing: don't — they are loud, exposed and have a poor safety record.
Timing: the 07:30 bus from Chiang Rai reaches Chiang Khong about 09:30; with the tuk-tuk, the crossing and the ride into town you are at the pier close to 11:00 with little margin. The 05:00 van or a night in Chiang Khong is the relaxed version.
Chiang Khong itself
A quiet riverside town facing Huay Xai across the Mekong, with guesthouses along the river road for ฿300–800 and a couple of places that sell boat tickets. If you arrive on an afternoon bus, sleep here, cross early, and board the boat with the best seats.
Where to stay
Compare hotels and guesthouses along this route (prices change by season; check the live price on the booking page): Chiang Khong · Chiang Rai
Sources and last check
Checked 15 September 2026 against: 12Go listings for Chiang Rai → Chiang Khong (van operators, times and fares); maptrotting.com's crossing report (20 December 2025) for the local bus fare, tuk-tuk, shuttle and visa-window details; nomadasaurus.com (updated 8 January 2026) for slow-boat departure time, pier and agency prices, Pakbeng and the Luang Prabang landing; Travelfish for the Terminal 1 departure point. Bus first/last times and guesthouse prices are traveller-reported, not official.